Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart
by IHeartAaronHotchner
Summary: Another in the Criminal Minds Tangent series Adrienne babysits Jack for Hotch while he teaches a class. She comes to a realization about her boss. one shot


**Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart**

Synopsis: Adrienne babysits Jack one night while Hotch teaches a class.

**Chapter 1:**

A rhythmic knock came from the front door. Hotch shook his head and smiled. _Green Acres._ He made his way to the front door, opened it up and said, "You are angel."

Adrienne Eliso looked back at him. "Oh, my halo's still there? It must be pretty damn crooked."

"Come in, Ade. What's in the bag?" Hotch asked.

"This is for Jack. I thought he would totally love it." She put the bag on the floor and pulled out a full size replica of Captain America's shield.

"Whoa! Cool!" said a tiny voice.

Adrienne looked over and saw Jack standing there. "Hiya, handsome."

"Hi, Adrienne! Is that Captain America's?!" the boy asked excitedly.

"Well, it's yours now. Cap gave it to my friend, Tony Stark, to give to you." She said

"You're friends with Iron man?!" Jack asked. He looked at his dad. "Daddy, Adrienne knows Iron Man!"

Hotch smiled at his son and said, "Yeah, that's pretty cool isn't it?" he looked backed over at Adrienne and whispered, "Friends with Iron Man, huh?"

"Robert Downey, Jr, is a friend of the family," she whispered back. She turned to Jack. "We should put this in your room, and there are some more cool things in the bag I brought."

"Okay, come on!" gleefully said the little boy as he ran toward his bedroom. Adrienne picked up the bag and began to follow him.

"Adrienne," Hotch called. She turned to look at him. "Thanks, again. I owe you."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Now go, Superdad, before you're late." With that she turned and followed Jack.

Hotch grabbed his briefcase and keys and opened the door. He smiled and shook his head and said to himself, "Superdad. Adrienne, you, you're something special." And out the door he left.

**Chapter 2:**

Adrienne followed Jack to his room. "So, where should we put this?" she asked him.

"Can we put it there?" he asked, pointing to the shelf above his bed.

"Of course, sweetheart, wherever you like." She climbed on the bed moved the things off the shelf and stuck the shield up there. "So, where should I put these?" She pointed to the things that she just took down.

"I dunno," Jack said, "What else is in the bag?"

"Well," she said, "I'll put them here, and your daddy can figure out later where he wants to put them." She stuck the items on the nightstand. She walked over to Jack who was peeking in the bag and sat down. "Hey, no peeking!"

Jack giggled.

She reached into the bag. "Do you like to read?"

"Yeah, Daddy reads to me all the time."

"Well, how would you like if Daddy read you these?" She pulled out a small stack of Avengers comic books. "These are The Avengers."

"I know that, Adrienne!"

"Really?"

"Captain America is the leader of The Avengers. Just like Daddy is the leader of your team. You guys are just like the Avengers"

"Yeah."

"Adrienne,"

"Yeah, sweetheart."

"I'm happy you came to play with me. I like you a lot"

"That makes me very happy."

"Daddy does too."

"What?"

"Daddy likes you a lot, too. He said so. I asked him the other night."

"Oh."

"Do you like Daddy?"

"Yes, I do."

"You and Daddy should get married."

" Jack, I don't know about—"

"Why not? You like Daddy and Daddy likes you and I like you!"

She picked up the little boy and sat him in her lap. "I know, and I love you." She hugged him. "But, there is a lot more to getting married than that."

"Like what."

"We'll talk about it another time. How about we make popcorn and watch a movie?"

"Yeah! Can I stay up until Daddy comes home?"

"I guess so."

Jack got up out of Adrienne's lap. "You're so cool, Adrienne." And he began to walk out of the room

Adrienne stood up and followed.

**Chapter 3:**

It was 9:30. Jack had fallen asleep in Adrienne's lap almost an hour ago while watching _The Incredible Hulk. _She picked the little boy and carried him to his bedroom. She tucked him in his bed, kissed his forehead, and whispered, "Goodnight sweetheart. You are very lucky to have Aaron Hotchner as your daddy, and he's very lucky to have you for a wingman."

"Wingman, huh?"

She turned around and saw Hotch standing in the doorway.

"Hotch, I didn't even hear you come in," she said as she walked towards the doorway. They walked out of Jack's room, and Hotch closed the door behind them. "So," he said to her as the walked down the hallway.

"So,"

"My wingman?"

They walked into the living room and began cleaning up the popcorn and Jack's toys.

"Yeah. Aaron. _Did I just call him Aaron?_ She thought. "He realizes that every night you go to bed with a broken heart. While he has you to dote on him, he realizes that there's nobody to dote on you. You know, he asked if we were gonna get married."

Hotch laughed. "He comes up with some good ideas, doesn't he? You know, Adrienne, he loves you a lot. He asks about you all the time. I see how he thinks."

"Since I make him so happy, I could make you happy," she said as she dumped the bowl of popcorn into the garbage can. "He's five," she said as she walked over to the sink. She began washing the bowl, and looked up at Hotch standing next to her, "of course he's gonna think that." She turned the faucet off. "I know what you're getting, Hotch. I don't know if I could do that right now. What are you doing?"

Hotch had his hands above her head like he was adjusting something. "Fixing your halo. It's crooked."

"I think it's meant to be." The two of them stood there and stared at each other for a minute. Adrienne looked at her watch. "I should go." They walked over to the front door. Hotch opened it for her.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, per usual," he said to her.

"Like clockwork. Goodnight, Hotch."

"Goodnight."

The door closed behind her. She walked down the hallway to the entrance of the building. When she got to the door, she turned around and looked back down the hallway with a look of longing on her face. "I'm sorry, Hotch," she whispered.

Hotch locked the deadbolt on the door. He turned around, leaned against it and ran his hand through his hair. After a minute he walked across the living room and down the hallway. He stopped at his son's room and cracked open the door. He whispered, "Thanks for being my wingman, buddy."


End file.
